Well 5 days into the season and I finally managed to setup on a Tom instead of Jakes. I had went out Wednesday morning around 7:30 and someone had beat me to my spot so I drove on down to another feild and walked over a ridge and there was a longbeard with 4 hens in the feild, knowing I couldn't get in close enough to him I called a few times having him answer once but finally following his harem in the opposite direction. So I sat there for awhile and waited until they were well out of range, I then went over to his strut area and built a blind out of some fallen timber. My brother wanted to hunt with me this morning so I brought him along but told him I only built a blind big enough to hold one and this morning he would be on his own lol...I set him up at the spot that I had been beaten to the previous morning and told him where they would be coming from. I headed down the my homemade blind and sat down at 6:10 a.m. At 6:17 I heard the first gobble and he was 20 yards behind me, yes that is too close but I had no idea he was roosting right there I had thought that he came out further down the feild. Now I had been super quiet getting into the spot and had even thought to myself how good of a job I done missing all the sticks and leaves without a flashlight. No expecting to hear something that early I had left me gun against the tree, and wiht him right behind me I felt I had choice but to be dead still until he flew down. Fighting the urge to wipe the snot that was running down my face I sat there motionless while he gobbled until about 6:30 a.m. Finally a hen flew down into the feild about 50-60 yards in front of me, then another one flew down...I waited anxiously waiting for the tom to fly out but he didn't, he flew down right behind me staying in the woods. He walked literally 4 steps from me to my back he then took a left and walked 6 steps to my right. He ran into the feild and had a jake in tow, now keep in mind I don't have my shotgun in my hand yet it is still leaning on the tree. He blows up and courts his girls while the jake is scoping out any danger...the jake turns away from me and I grab my shotgun and bring it up to my shoulder as quick as I could. The jake caught some motion, but I had already had the bead on the toms tailfan. I just needed him to turn around and come out of strut, I yelled "good morning major tom" bringing him out of stut and I dropped him at 6:38 a.m at 16 paces. Great Hunt but it gets better (sorry for the long story).
I then sent my brother a text asking if he had seen anything and if he would like me to come up and help out. He texted back that he had 2 toms about 100 yards out in front of him. I waited until he texted me that they had left the area and for me to come up. I grabbed the video camera and walked the mile to him. We had setup in an area I had seen a tom in quite regular but I had also seen lots of jakes in as well. But this being only the 2nd oppurtunity for my brother to kill a bird it didn't matter. We set up and I called for a little while but we didn't see anything but a doe and her fawn walk past us. So I decided to move out of the wind and down into the ravine about 150 yards from where we were. We sat down and I called on a different call and waited about 10 minutes when I heard scratching in the leaves coming our way. So I hit the mouth call one more time and we heard the footsteps coming to us at a brisk pace and then finally he came out to the left and just behind my brother. He tried to swing his gun around and get a shot off but the area was just too thick. We did get a look at him and he was a mature gobbler, he walked by us at 15 yards but there was just no way of getting a shot without getting busted. The ole bird didn't stay long once he didn't see any hens and he took off back in the direction we had just left from. I waited until he was well away from us and told my brother that we should try to circle around and get in from of him. On our way around we encountered 3 jakes making there way to where we wanted to go, I thought about scaring them off but we waited for them to enter the woods before we moved again. Finally we entered the area we had set up previously, I got the video out and hit the aluminum call a few times. I heard something scratching the leaves directly in front of me just out f sight, 2 minutes later it's the ole tom that had just left us. He walked in full view struting, doing his thing before walking 35 yards in front of my brother...I had the video on the bird and was catching the whole show then...Boom! bird hops into the air hits a limb comes back down and takes off. No he didn't hit the bird but it sure was fun, he was shaking his head for about an hour but finally admitted that he had a great time but he was just to nervous lol. I told him that it happens to everyone that turkey hunts if they hunt long enough and we would get him next time. The video footage turned out great and the hunt that morning is what makes me love to get after these animals so much!!

Jim, yes I am letting my son take a half day off from school in hopes of getting one on film for him. Saturday I am taking out a 10 year old for his 2nd bird..if you remember I posted pics of him getting a jake last year 2 days before the end of the season.

No elitism intended. MY computer eyes are shot. I can't read more thatn about 5 lines together without getting a headache. The part about police reports is true. I have prosecuted and defended for about 30 years and it drives me crazy. Congrats on the bird.